Roasted Heirloom Tomato & Vegan Pumpkin Seed Pesto Toasts

Is there anything that screams summer more than heirloom tomatoes?! I’m going to go ahead and answer that question for you with a big NOPE! Just add a little basil and you have the ultimate combination of summer flavors in these Roasted Heirloom Tomato & Vegan Pumpkin Seed Pesto Toasts!

This recipe is made with a thick pesto that replaces your typical pine nuts with pumpkin seeds beneath layers of perfectly roasted tomatoes. Get ready to buy all the tomatoes to make this addicting recipe all summer long.

Yes give me all the summer tomatoes: Jump to Recipe

#wesaytomatoes Food Blogger Collaboration

Part of the reason I decided to create these Heirloom Tomato Toasts was for a seasonal recipe collaboration with several other food bloggers. I was incredibly excited to be invited to participate in this months tomato theme and this is my official contribution to #wesaytomatoes.

If you’re interested in seeing some of the other recipes that are a part of this collaboration, you can search the hashtag on Instagram. There are some seriously talented bloggers participating and a whole bunch of tomato recipes you don’t want to miss!

P.S- If you are reading this and happen to be wonderfing if you should start a food blog, stop waiting and go do it today! The community is awesome and I’m honestly sad I waited this long to take the plunge and connect with so many other wonderful foodies.

Now about That Recipe!

Step 1: Slice your Toast! You can use any gluten-free bread in this recipe or even a sourdough toast if you aren’t sensitive to gluten.

Step 2: Make your Pesto! I like to soak my cashews in the morning and then make the pesto as soon as I get home from work in the evening. However, if you forget this step and are in a time crunch, you can always soak the cashews in boiling hot water for 1 hour for similar results.  From there, just blend all the ingredients together and slather the finished pesto onto each slice of toast. The amount of pesto in this recipe should be enough for about 6-7 toasts.

Step 3: Slice & layer on those heirloom tomatoes! I like to use slices that are 1/4 inch thick and layer them so that there are several sizes and colors of tomato on each toast. For this recipe, I recommend buying 3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes and 3-4 mini heirloom tomatoes of various varieties as this makes the flavor so much better. Get creative and have fun when layering!

Step 4: Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Basil, and a drizzle of Olive Oil! Basically, add all the ingredients that help bring out the flavor of the tomatoes once roasted.

Step 5: Roast those Toasts! Bake for 20-25 minutes @ 400F- Then Eat :).

This is The Perfect Toast of Summer

This toast truly does bring out all the best flavors of summer. It’s always bitter-sweet to see summer coming to an end and even crazier to see that I only have two more summer recipes coming to the blog.

Come mid-September, I’ll be switching gears for Fall and getting back to weekly recipes again (yay!). Not going to lie, I am a Fall girl and am already looking forward to those cooler days, big sweaters, and pumpkin spiced everything. In the meantime, enjoy these last few weeks of hot summer sun and plenty of deliciously ripe tomatoes on everything!

-TSG

Just in case you are looking for more tomato recipes, don’t forget to check these out!

Vegan & GF Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato, & Quinoa Soup

Vegan Linguine Pasta Salad

Vegan Lentil Tacos with Pico de Gallo

Print Recipe

Roasted Heirloom Tomato & Vegan Pumpkin Seed Pesto Toasts Yum

Course

Dinner, Lunch

Keyword

Toast

Servings

Toasts

Ingredients

Vegan Pesto Spread

• 1/2 cup raw cashews * covered and soaked in water for at least 6-8 hours
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil

Toast & Toppings

• 6 1/2 inch thick slices gluten-free bread *or bread type of your choice
• 3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes
• 3-4 mini heirloom tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• handful fresh basil *extra to top the baked toasts

Course Dinner, Lunch Keyword Toast Servings Toasts Ingredients Vegan Pesto Spread 1/2 cup raw cashews * covered and soaked in water for at least 6-8 hours 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup nutritional yeast 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds 1 tsp lemon juice 1 garlic clove 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil Toast & Toppings 6 1/2 inch thick slices gluten-free bread *or bread type of your choice 3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes 3-4 mini heirloom tomatoes 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 tsp garlic powder handful fresh basil *extra to top the baked toasts

Instructions

Vegan Pesto

1. About 6-8 hours before making your pesto, soak your cashews in water. If you are short on time you can soak the cashews in boiling hot water for 1 hour for similar results.
2. In a small blender add your soaked cashews and water and blend together until a smooth paste is formed. Next, add in the nutritional yeast, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, and garlic. Blend to combine. As the last step, add in the fresh basil and blend to combine, scraping down the sides as needed.

Making the Toasts

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. Slice your bread into 6 1/2 inch thick slices and top each slice with about 2 Tbsp of the pesto. Cut your tomato slices into 1/4 inch thick slices and stack on top of the toasts so that they are layered.
3. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste on top of the tomato toasts before baking. Add to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the toast is beginning to brown and the tomatoes are beginning to caramelize.
4. Remove from oven, top with fresh basil, and enjoy!
5. ** I do not recommend storing as leftovers as the toast can get soggy, however, you can cut the recipe in half if you want to make less**

Share this Recipe